Liverpool High School '92 (Liverpool, New York)
• 2-time New York State Champion - 1,500m
• 2-time Footlocker Cross Country Finalist
• High School Personal Bests: 4:31 (1,500m) and 9:56 (3,000m)

Jen Rhines started running when she went out for spring track in 7th
grade. She competed in the 100 and 200 meter sprints, but gradually
increased her race distances each season. By the time she got to 9th
grade she was racing the 800 and 1500 meter runs. During those years
Jen was a three sport athlete. She’d play soccer in the fall,
basketball in the winter and run track in the spring.

Eventually Jen realized that running was going to be her best sport
so when she transferred from Phoenix to Liverpool High School in central
New York to start her sophomore year she joined the cross country team.
She quickly became one of New York’s top runners. In cross country,
Jen qualified for the Footlocker Cross Country Championships her junior
and senior years. Her senior year she was 5th at Footlocker. She was
the New York State Champion in the 1500 her junior and senior years.
She left Liverpool High School with still standing school records in the
1500 (4:31) and 3000 (9:56) meter runs.

With those credentials it isn’t surprising that Jen was recruited by
many colleges. However, it was the storied history of the Villanova
program that led her to the suburbs of Philadelphia to continue her
running. Her start at Villanova wasn’t what she envisioned. Her frosh
cross country campaign ended with a 98th place finish at the NCAA
championships. The team won but she didn’t contribute to the team score
and it bothered her…..a lot. She recognized the problem and made
changes. The following year she placed second then her junior year she
was the NCAA Cross Country Champion. While at Villanova Jen was a
five-time NCAA champion. Added to her cross country title is the
outdoor 5000 three consecutive years (1994-1996) and the indoor 5000 in
1995. Jen graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 1996.

To say that things got better for Jen after she left Villanova would
be an understatement. She went on to qualify for three Olympic Games.
In 2000, she qualified in the 10,000 then the marathon in 2004. In
2008, she qualified in the 5000 in an epic battle against Shalane
Flanagan and Kara Goucher in what some say was the greatest women’s
Olympic Trials 5000 race ever. Jen’s professional career includes her
breaking the elusive 15-minute barrier in the 5,000. Her 14:54.29 makes
her the 5th fastest American performer ever at that distance. Her
31:17.31 10,000 makes her the 9th fastest American performer ever. Her
3000 best of 8:35.03 makes her the 6th fastest American performer ever.
It’s very difficult to make one Olympic team. It’s rare to make a
second. It puts you in a very elite group of people when you make three
Olympic teams. In 2011, 15 years after graduating from college, Jen
finished 9th at the World Championships in the 10,000 meters. Her
success and longevity in this sport is amazing and the envy of other
elite athletes. She is truly one of America’s greatest distance runners
ever.

Terrence Mahon and Jen Rhines

Jen resides in Boston, MA with her husband Terrance Mahon and two
pugs, Bella and Star. Her husband Terrance is an accomplished athlete
and coach. He was an All-American at Villanova, has run 2:13:02 for the
marathon and qualified for the Olympic Trials in both the 10,000 and
marathon. Terrance is also one of the foremost coaches in the United
States. He was head coach of the Mammoth Track Club where he coached
such greats as Deena Kastor, Ryan Hall, Morgan Uceny, Anna (Willard)
Pierce, Amy Hastings and of course his wife. In 2013 he was recruited
by the Boston Athletic Association to start and coach their high
performance athlete group.